Contents

Definition

On this wiki, the term "monster attributes" is usually used to describe monster properties that are qualitative and innate.

Qualitative properties are descriptive and non-numerical. Quantitative properties such as monster difficulty and weight are excluded from the category of monster attributes. In the source code, attributes are defined by Boolean flags rather than variables, which means that they are either present or absent for any given monster.

Innate properties are characteristic of all monsters of that type from the moment they are generated. Properties like intrinsic speed or acquired invisibility that monsters can obtain from items or spells are not considered monster attributes.

Significance for gameplay

Monster attributes influence:

How a monster is able to interact with items and with its environment:

Monsters that are humanoid have arms, so they are able to wield weapons if they have a weapon attack.

Monsters that are strong get a bigger carrying capacity and can use two-handed weapons.

Monsters that are slithy lack feet, so they cannot kick or wear boots.

Eating a monster that is human will incur a penalty for cannibalism if you are playing as a human. Likewise, eating monsters that are dwarves will be cannibalism for dwarves, and eating elves will be cannibalism for elves. Orcs are an exception; they will not be penalized for eating other orcs.

Acidic or poisonous monsters leave corpses that may be risky to eat without the proper resistances.

Monsters that are covetous are motivated by their desire for your quest artifact or for one or more of the unique items. They will pick up the item if they find it on the floor. If the item is in the possession of you or a monster, they will attack whoever has it, teleporting back and forth from the stairs.

Discovering monster attributes

It is helpful to know the attributes of a given monster when you are trying to decide how to fight or avoid it, or determine whether it would make a good pet or polymorph form. Some of the most important attributes can be learned simply by experience, by paying attention to how the monsters behave in-game. If you don't mind being spoiled, however, you can find a list of the attributes of any given monster in the information table in its respective article on this wiki.

See also

Template:Attributes – has a comprehensive table of all attributes, by their name in the source code and how they are indicated in the monster information table